[LINK] Switzerland taking Google to court

[Jan Whitaker]

Google: Swiss Privacy Watchdog To Sue Google Street View
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/13/google-swiss-privacy-watc_n_356577.html

GENEVA ­ Google Inc.'s unstoppable drive to map 
and photograph the world has run into an 
immovable object – Switzerland's strict tradition of personal privacy.

The country's privacy watchdog announced Friday 
that he plans to haul the search engine company 
before a federal court to force it to make 
changes to its Street View application.

Google criticized the decision and said it would defend itself in the case.

Street View allows Internet users to view 
panoramic street-level pictures of more than 100 
cities around the world. It already has been 
criticized in several European countries and 
Japan for allowing individuals to be identified 
without their knowledge or consent – potentially 
exposing embarrassing facts about their private lives.

Switzerland's federal data protection 
commissioner wants Google to ensure that all 
faces and car plates are blurred, remove pictures 
of enclosed areas such as walled gardens and 
private streets, and declare at least one week in 
advance which town and cities it plans to photograph and post online.

"Numerous faces and vehicle number plates are not 
made sufficiently unrecognizable from the point 
of view of data protection, especially where the 
persons concerned are shown in sensitive 
locations, e.g. outside hospitals, prisons or 
schools," the commissioner, Hanspeter Thuer, said in a statement.

"The height from which the camera on top of the 
Google vehicle films is also problematic," he 
said. "It provides a view over fences, hedges and 
walls, with the result that people see more on 
Street View than can been seen by a normal passer-by in the street."

Thuer requested in August that Google take 
"various measures to protect personal privacy in 
its Street View online service."
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"Google for the most part declined to comply with 
the requests," the commissioner said, prompting 
him to take the matter to Switzerland's Federal Administrative Tribunal.

Google said it was disappointed by the move and 
would "vigorously contest" the case.

"We believe that Google Street View is absolutely 
legal, also in Switzerland," said Matthias Meyer, a company spokesman.

Meyer said it was the first time Google has been 
sued because of the service, which he said was 
extremely popular in Switzerland, where tens of 
millions of images have been viewed since August.

The California-based company has proposed five 
steps to allay Thuer's concerns, and is planning 
to roll out a new version of its software that 
improves the blurring of faces and car plates.

"We're trying to implement this new technology as 
fast as we can," said Meyer. He was unable to say 
when the new version will be launched.

The case illustrates a clash of cultures between 
Switzerland's legal system – which places a heavy 
emphasis on protecting privacy best illustrated 
by its strict banking secrecy laws – and the 
increasing use of new technology to gather and 
distribute information and pictures online.

"The Swiss are very concerned about protecting 
their basic rights," said Nico Luchsinger, a 
Swiss writer specializing in technology issues.

"They tend to view attempts, including by the 
state, to interfere with or delve into their 
private lives with skepticism," he said. "It's 
not clear whether a majority of Swiss people object to Street View though."

Other countries, too, have taken a dim view of 
Street View since its launch in 2007.

In July, Greek officials rejected a bid to 
photograph the nation's streets until more 
privacy safeguards are provided. In April, 
residents of one English village formed a human 
chain to stop a camera van, and in Japan the 
company agreed to reshoot views taken by a camera 
high enough to peer over fences.

Google also caved in to German demands to erase 
the raw footage of faces, house numbers, license 
plates and individuals who have told authorities 
they do not want their information used in the service.

While Switzerland's case may take months to wind 
its way through the nation's legal system, it 
could have an immediate impact on the 
availability of the Street View service in the country.

Thuer has asked the tribunal to require Google to 
remove all pictures taken in Switzerland and to 
cease taking any more pictures in the country until a ruling is made.



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the 
world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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